Van Gundy muzzled

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FRANK ZICARELLI, QMI Agency

No one is talking and no one in the immediate future will attempt to provide their take on the issue, but Stan Van Gundy has officially been muzzled.

Here’s a guy who ranks among the NBA’s very best head coaches, but here’s a guy who is often misunderstood or completely overlooked based strictly on appearances.

When it comes to any on-court game situation, Van Gundy is right up there with the likes of a Gregg Popovich.

When it comes to any issue involving the state of the game, Van Gundy is as frank as they come, never mincing words.

Clearly, though, the long arm of commissioner David Stern has forced Van Gundy to do something he’s unaccustomed in doing: Being silent.

Whether it was league-imposed, which is what we suspect, or self-imposed, which is not likely, mum has suddenly become the word with Van Gundy.

Just last week, Van Gundy held nothing back when star centre Dwight Howard had to sit out one game following his 16th technical foul of the season, which carries an automatic one-game suspension.

“This is the system David Stern and his minions like,” Van Gundy said. “That’s the system you have.

“I certainly can’t have an opinion because David Stern, like a lot of leaders we’ve seen in this world lately, don’t really tolerate other people’s opinion or free speech or anything. I’m not really allowed to have an opinion. It’s up to him.”

Earlier this year, Van Gundy was slapped with a $35,000 fine for criticizing the officials.

In the wake of Van Gundy’s anti-Stern comments, the commissioner appeared on ESPN Radio.

In a nutshell, Stern said he wouldn’t fine Van Gundy, but made it a point to tell everyone that he would be contacting Magic ownership to discuss its outspoken head coach.

“It didn’t bother me personally,” Stern told the radio audience when asked about Van Gundy’s latest tirade. “I see somebody whose team isn’t performing, whose star player was suspended, who seems to be fraying.

“I would render a guess that we won’t be hearing from him for the rest of the season. When he stops and reads what he said and realizes what he did, he will say no more.”

Which is quite sad.

If Van Gundy were more sophisticated in the way he dresses and less politically correct, this guy would be hailed as a genius.

In no other sport is image so important than in the NBA.

AROUND THE NBA

As March Madness tips off, the maddening process of projecting college players into pro prospects begins. No player will be watched closely than North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, a freshman small forward who is as electric as any wing in the NCAA. If this kid comes out of school and if the Raptors somehow win the lottery, he’d be the perfect face for a faceless franchise. Imagine the possibilities with Barnes, Ed Davis and DeMar DeRozan. Heck, the Raptors may even do what this space has been pining for: Trade Andrea Bargnani ... Steve Nash’s latest physical discomfort first surfaced in November, causing the former two-time league MVP to miss two games. It worsened last week in a loss to the Nuggets and it threatens to jeopardize Phoenix’s late-season push for the post-season. Medically speaking, Nash is dealing with what is known as pubic-symphysis irritation. “Steve means more to our team than Kobe (Bryant) does to the Lakers,” Suns forward Jared Dudley said of Nash. With so much of the offence running through Nash’s hands, no player in the NBA is as indispensable as Nash. Mind you, the way Bryant came back from a ankle sprain to lead L.A. to its win in Dallas on Saturday night, there’s no way the Lakers are eyeing a three-peat if their leader is hurt. “All movement is difficult,” Nash said of a condition that surrounds the bladder and genitalia. “Offence actually is harder because you have to be more specific and I just don’t have a lot of control.” Aaron Brooks is no Steve Nash, but the Suns did acquire the uptempo point guard from Houston as insurance ... Kurt Rambis’ days in Minnesota appear to be numbered. The rookie head coach was in a can’t-win situation when he agreed to take over the T’Wolves last season, a franchise that hasn’t made any financial commitments and one that has made some questionable draft decisions, save for the O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love deal with Memphis. It’s kind of hard to judge Rambis’ coaching abilities when one looks at Minny’s roster, but someone’s head has to be sacrificed and Rambis seems to be the likely victim when the season ends ... Big Al Jefferson beat the buzzer to down the Raptors and joined an ex-Raptor, Hakeem Olajuwon, in posting a statistical oddity. In Utah’s 96-94 win in Toronto, Jefferson made 17 of 24 shots from the field to account for his game-high 34 points, thus becoming the first player to score as many as 34 points in a game without making either a three-pointer or a free throw since the Dream poured in 48 points for Houston in a loss to Denver on Jan. 30, 1997.

frank.zicarelli@sunmedia.ca

WALLACE’S EMOTIONS RUN WILD

The cruel business of basketball hit Gerald Wallace pretty hard, sending even this resilient veteran to the metaphorical mat.

A guy gives his heart and soul to a franchise and a community and suddenly he becomes the victim of an obvious salary dump, a move that shook Wallace to his very foundation.

Too bad a man of Wallace’s status had to endure the pain of a trade, but it underscored basketball’s nasty underbelly.

“Basically, you feel betrayed by somebody you love,” Wallace told the Charlotte Observer. “I totally didn’t see it coming. I’d been there seven long years and then you feel like you’re not wanted anymore. That’s a bad situation to be in, especially for me, who committed so much to the organization.”

Wallace is the Bobcats’ only all-star who was dealt to Portland last month.

When he made his return to Charlotte, Wallace expressed plenty of emotions, good and bad.

“Right before the game, right before they did the tribute, that was hard for me,” he said. “It was a great feeling. I think the fans love me just as much as I love them. I knew I would get a warm ovation here.

“It was heartwarming. I guess they miss me just as much as I miss them.”

Business-wise, what the Bobcats won’t miss is Wallace’s contract, which is the primary reason why Charlotte’s best player got traded.

Next year, assuming this is one, Wallace will earn $10.7 million. He has a player option the following season at $11.4 million.

TURBULENT TIMES IN INDY

Whether it’s the future of Larry Bird or the ongoing chemistry issues plaguing the Pacers, times have turned turbulent in Indiana.

And now that the shock of replacing Jim O’Brien with interim head coach Frank Vogel has subsided, the Pacers are getting exposed.

Danny Granger took exception to Leandro Barbosa’s meaningless attempt at a basket last week in Toronto in a Raptors win, but all it did was speak to the uneasiness engulfing the Pacers.

“Our problem is internally,” Bird, the team’s president who may or may not return next season, said. “I see what’s going on inside the locker room.

“I’ve seen a lot of it all year. I tried to address it with different people at the trade deadline.”

As much as Bird tried to peddle useless parts, he couldn’t.

Amazingly, though, the Pacers remain in a playoff hunt, which sort of tells everyone just how pathetic the bottom of the East has become.

On Tuesday, the Pacers wrap up their mini two-game set with the Knicks with a home tip followed by an away game against Boston.

Despite their on-court woes and unresolved team issues off the court, the Pacers are right there with Charlotte and Milwaukee for the eighth seed.

Both the Bucks and Bobcats made the post-season last year.

Depending on health, Milwaukee appears best poised to emerge.

BRACING FOR A LOCKOUT

A lockout handbook has been distributed to players, many of whom aren’t exactly equipped in dealing with real life.

On the cover of the 56-page handbook reads: “Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.”

The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement expires on June 30 amid growing concerns that a lockout is all but inevitable, the conciliatory rhetoric espoused during all-star weekend notwithstanding.

Last week’s decertification by their football-playing brethren hit home among some ballers.

“We’re already thinking about that, our situation,” Pistons veteran centre Ben Wallace. “It’s one thing for you to go through it, while it’s different when you see somebody else go through it.

“You know whether you are prepared or not, so you just hope those guys are prepared for it. I’ve already been through one lockout. I know pretty much what to expect.”

The NBA was reduced to a 52-game regular season in 1999, the last time the league had a work stoppage.

A lot of players are paying close attention to how the NFL process unfolds.

“We’ll have to see how this plays out, hopefully learn from what’s going on in the NFL and try not to make the same mistakes,” Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant said.

ADELMAN’S UNCERTAIN FUTURE IN HOUSTON

With the Houston Rockets unlikely to make the post-season this spring, plenty of speculation surrounds Rick Adelman, one of the game’s most under-rated head coaches who came oh-so close to winning a title in Portland and Sacramento.

Recently, reports in Houston have sent different messages with quotes attributed to both Adelman and owner Leslie Alexander.

“Let’s clarify a couple of things,” Adelman began. “When I was asked about what I was going to do in the future, I wasn’t asked about any contract decision from the Rockets. Nothing’s been said to me about the Rockets or from the team or anything.

“If my contract ran out, it was asked if I wanted to keep coaching, and I said, well, I’m going to have to sit down and think about that.

“I never said I wasn’t committed to the team right now or anything else, which I think the way that read it sounded like it was a misconception of what I said.”

Who knows if Yao Ming will ever play again.

And it was obvious the Rockets were giving up on this season when they traded Shane Battier (Memphis) and Aaron Brooks (Phoenix) at last month’s trade deadline.

If Adelman doesn’t come back next season with the Rockets, no doubt he’ll surface elsewhere.